Recipe: Whole Wheat Spaghetti w/Mushrooms

[Guest guest]

Went to the library on Saturday to see if I could find any

birthing/new baby books. Well, small town library, had nothing, nilch,

zippo, unbelievable. So, I found myself in the food section! And

actually found quite a few vegetarian cookbooks. One is copyrighted

1995 and is absolutely brand new, spine has never been bent. I'm

putting the first creases in it. Wondering if maybe library will sell

it to me!

 

Anyway, this recipe is from this book, Lean Italian Meatless Meals by

Anne Casale. I changed it up a bit, based on what I had, so I'll make

those comments at the end.

 

1/2 oz dried porcini mushrooms

1 T olive oil

1/2 c minced red onion

2 t minced garlic

1 lb white mushrooms, thinly sliced

1 T minced fresh thyme or 1 t dried thyme

2 1/2 t salt

1/2 t black pepper

1 lb whole-wheat spaghetti

1/4 c minced Italian flat-leaf parsley

1/4 c freshly grated parmesan cheese

 

1. Soak the porcinis in 1 c warm water for 30 minutes. Drain

mushrooms, reserving the liquid. Rinse mushrooms in cold water, blot

dry and chop fine, set aside. Pour reserved liquid through strainer

lined with paper towel to remove sand, set aside.

 

2. In a skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook

until lightly golden, add garlic and cook, stirring frequently, for

another minute. Stir in white mushrooms and saute, stirring

frequently, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped porcinis,

reserved liquid and thyme. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Season

with 1/2 teaspoon of salt, pepper. Remove from heat.

 

3. Cook pasta with remaining salt until al dente. Drain pasta and

transfer to bowl. Toss pasta with 3/4 of sauce. Spoon remaining sauce

on top, garnish with parsely and parmesan.

 

What I did differently: I didn't have porcinis so I just added a cup

of Better than Boullion broth. I used the sliced portabella mushrooms

instead of the white ones. When pouring in the liquid, I reserved a

bit and added a couple of tablespoons of flour to it. Then added the

rest of that to create a rue. I also added a can of drained and rinsed

Great Northern Beans at the end and heated through. The beans added

some much needed protein and a lovely texture with the mushrooms.

 

Next time I'll also add some spinach.

 

Denise